Gregory Aldrete

So the army becomes this mechanism of Romanization where you pull in foreigners, you make them like you, and then they end up fighting for you. And early on, the secret to Rome's military success is not that they have better generals. It's not that they have better equipment. It's not that they have better strategy or tactics. It's that they have limitless manpower, relatively speaking.

So the army becomes this mechanism of Romanization where you pull in foreigners, you make them like you, and then they end up fighting for you. And early on, the secret to Rome's military success is not that they have better generals. It's not that they have better equipment. It's not that they have better strategy or tactics. It's that they have limitless manpower, relatively speaking.

So the army becomes this mechanism of Romanization where you pull in foreigners, you make them like you, and then they end up fighting for you. And early on, the secret to Rome's military success is not that they have better generals. It's not that they have better equipment. It's not that they have better strategy or tactics. It's that they have limitless manpower, relatively speaking.

So they lose a war and they just come back and fight again and they lose again and they come back and they fight again. And eventually they just wear down their enemies because their key thing of their policy is we incorporate the conquered people. And the great moment that just exemplifies this is pretty late in this process. So they've been doing this for 250 years just about.

So they lose a war and they just come back and fight again and they lose again and they come back and they fight again. And eventually they just wear down their enemies because their key thing of their policy is we incorporate the conquered people. And the great moment that just exemplifies this is pretty late in this process. So they've been doing this for 250 years just about.

So they lose a war and they just come back and fight again and they lose again and they come back and they fight again. And eventually they just wear down their enemies because their key thing of their policy is we incorporate the conquered people. And the great moment that just exemplifies this is pretty late in this process. So they've been doing this for 250 years just about.

And they've gotten down to the toe of Italy. They're conquering the very last cities down there. And one of the last cities is actually a Greek city. It's a Greek colony. It's a wealthy city. And so when the Romans show up on the doorstep and are about to attack them, they do what any rich Greek colony or city does. They go out and hire the best mercenaries they can.

And they've gotten down to the toe of Italy. They're conquering the very last cities down there. And one of the last cities is actually a Greek city. It's a Greek colony. It's a wealthy city. And so when the Romans show up on the doorstep and are about to attack them, they do what any rich Greek colony or city does. They go out and hire the best mercenaries they can.

And they've gotten down to the toe of Italy. They're conquering the very last cities down there. And one of the last cities is actually a Greek city. It's a Greek colony. It's a wealthy city. And so when the Romans show up on the doorstep and are about to attack them, they do what any rich Greek colony or city does. They go out and hire the best mercenaries they can.

And they hire this guy who thinks of himself as the new Alexander the Great, a man named Pyrrhus of Epirus. So he's a mercenary. He's actually related to Alexander distantly. He has a terrific army, top-notch army. He's got elephants. He's got all the latest military technology. The Romans come and fight a battle against him, and Pyrrhus knows what he's doing. He wipes out the Romans.

And they hire this guy who thinks of himself as the new Alexander the Great, a man named Pyrrhus of Epirus. So he's a mercenary. He's actually related to Alexander distantly. He has a terrific army, top-notch army. He's got elephants. He's got all the latest military technology. The Romans come and fight a battle against him, and Pyrrhus knows what he's doing. He wipes out the Romans.

And they hire this guy who thinks of himself as the new Alexander the Great, a man named Pyrrhus of Epirus. So he's a mercenary. He's actually related to Alexander distantly. He has a terrific army, top-notch army. He's got elephants. He's got all the latest military technology. The Romans come and fight a battle against him, and Pyrrhus knows what he's doing. He wipes out the Romans.

He thinks, okay, now we'll have a peace treaty. We'll negotiate something. I can go home. But the Romans won't even talk. They go to their Italian allies and half-citizens. They raise a second army. They send it against Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus says, okay, these guys are slow learners. Fine. He fights them again, wipes them out. He thinks, now we'll have a peace treaty.

He thinks, okay, now we'll have a peace treaty. We'll negotiate something. I can go home. But the Romans won't even talk. They go to their Italian allies and half-citizens. They raise a second army. They send it against Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus says, okay, these guys are slow learners. Fine. He fights them again, wipes them out. He thinks, now we'll have a peace treaty.

He thinks, okay, now we'll have a peace treaty. We'll negotiate something. I can go home. But the Romans won't even talk. They go to their Italian allies and half-citizens. They raise a second army. They send it against Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus says, okay, these guys are slow learners. Fine. He fights them again, wipes them out. He thinks, now we'll have a peace treaty.

But the Romans go back to the allies, raise a third army, and send it after Pyrrhus. And when he sees that third army coming, he says, I can't afford to win another battle. I win these battles, but each time I lose some of my troops and I can't replace them. And the Romans just keep sprouting new armies. So he gives up and goes home. So Rome kind of loses every battle but wins the war.

But the Romans go back to the allies, raise a third army, and send it after Pyrrhus. And when he sees that third army coming, he says, I can't afford to win another battle. I win these battles, but each time I lose some of my troops and I can't replace them. And the Romans just keep sprouting new armies. So he gives up and goes home. So Rome kind of loses every battle but wins the war.

But the Romans go back to the allies, raise a third army, and send it after Pyrrhus. And when he sees that third army coming, he says, I can't afford to win another battle. I win these battles, but each time I lose some of my troops and I can't replace them. And the Romans just keep sprouting new armies. So he gives up and goes home. So Rome kind of loses every battle but wins the war.

And Pyrrhus, one of his – actually his officers has a great line as they're kind of going back to Greece. He says, fighting the Romans is like fighting a hydra. And a hydra is this mythological monster that when you cut off one head, two more grow in its place. So you can just never win. That's fascinating. So that's the secret to Rome's early success.

And Pyrrhus, one of his – actually his officers has a great line as they're kind of going back to Greece. He says, fighting the Romans is like fighting a hydra. And a hydra is this mythological monster that when you cut off one head, two more grow in its place. So you can just never win. That's fascinating. So that's the secret to Rome's early success.